Salt Lake City 2002
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout 165 sporting sessions. The 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2002 Paralympic Games were both organized by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC). Utah became the fifth state in the United States to host the Olympic Games, and the 2002 Winter Olympics are the most recent games to be held in the United States. The opening ceremony was held on February 8, 2002, and sporting competitions were held up until the closing ceremony on February 24, 2002. Music for both ceremonies was directed by Mark Watters. Salt Lake City became the most populous area ever to have hosted the Winter Olympics but was surpassed by Turin in the 2006 Winter Olympics four years later, which itself was surpassed by Vancouver in the 2010 Winter Olympics.Salt Lake population figures by the United States Census Following a trend, the 2002 Olympic Winter Games were also larger than all prior Winter Games, with a considerable 10 more events than the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan; more events yet were staged by Turin and then Vancouver and Sochi Olympics. The Salt Lake Games faced a bribery scandal and some local opposition during the bid, as well as some sporting and refereeing controversies during the competitions. Nevertheless, from sporting and business standpoints, they were among the most successful Winter Olympic Games in history; records were set in both the broadcasting and marketing programs. Over 2 billion viewers watched more than 13 billion viewer hours. The games were also financially successful raising more money with fewer sponsors than any prior Olympic Games, which left SLOC with a surplus of $40 million at the conclusion of the games. The surplus was used to create the Utah Athletic Foundation, which maintains and operates many of the remaining Olympic venues. These were the first Winter Olympic Games to be opened by an incumbent President of the United States, George W. Bush. Of the three previous Winter Games which had been held in the United States, both Squaw Valley 1960 and Lake Placid 1980 had both been opened by Vice Presidents, Richard Nixon and Walter Mondale respectively, while Lake Placid 1932 was opened by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his tenure as Governor of New York. Both Nixon and Roosevelt became President later in their careers (with FDR becoming president in November of 1932). Host city selection Salt Lake City was chosen over Quebec City, Canada; Sion, Switzerland; and Östersund, Sweden on June 16, 1995, at the 104th IOC Session in Budapest, Hungary.IOC Vote History Salt Lake City had previously come in second during the bids for the 1998 Winter Olympics, awarded to Nagano, Japan, and had offered to be the provisional host of the 1976 Winter Olympics when the original host, Denver, Colorado, withdrew. The 1976 Winter Olympics were ultimately awarded to Innsbruck, Austria. Medal table Venues Competitive Venues 1''Because of the no-commercialization policy of the Olympics, the Delta Center, now the EnergySolutions Arena, was labeled as the "Salt Lake Ice Center," causing some confusion for visitors.'' Non-competitive Venues Category:Winter Olympic Games Category:Olympic Games Category:USA Category:Winter Olympic Games in North America